Questions
“Life is completely shaped by the questions you are asking.”
- George McDonald
I’ve learned a lot about clarifying messages. I heard a podcast, went to a conference, read a book, and then became a certified guide in a message clarifying process called “StoryBrand.” Most of the other guides are in the marketing space and I suppose it is just another tool in their toolkit for how they help clients.
I think, possibly because I am not a full-time marketing person with experience and an expansive toolkit, it has become something way more than another tool.
It has become a worldview.
Okay, not that kind of worldview. Not a spiritual one. I have one of those also that supersedes and transcends everything in my life, but when it comes to any kind of messaging (e-mail, text, presentations, blog posts, group interactions, or even job postings) it is the governing worldview of how I write, speak, and help others do the same.
We will likely write a book one day about our extensive process for taking companies from chaos to clarity through our coaching process. Leading them from uncertainty to a certain future with a focused team, clear roadmap, and an easy to execute plan to get there. It will have lots of chapters, lots of anecdotes, and be full of the experiential currency that only comes from time in the field.
But let me clarify and simplify. A peek behind the curtain, as it were. At the end of the day, when we work with a client, we are really only helping them answer four simple questions:
Who?
Why?
Where?
How?
Why would anyone pay us to do that? Why would anyone buy a book that helps them clarify how to do this?
Good questions.
The answer is that we are all overwhelmed with questions every day. They aren’t big ones like these. They are small, less directional, and don’t really do anything to move us toward a more inspired future. Most of us need some protected space, a simple and methodical process, and a guide to help clarify and drive execution.
We often say, “Everyone arrives somewhere, but very few people arrive somewhere on purpose.” We think arriving somewhere on purpose should be the guiding true north for every organizational leader.
We use lots of media and clever group exercises. We are really good at moving a group in a collaborative direction in an inspired manner. But actually, our really simple (but not easy) process that we guide all our clients through essentially only answers those four simple questions:
Who? …is the right subset of your team that should comprise a leadership team?
Why? …What is the purpose of what we are doing that should guide our organization?
Where? …do we want to be 2-4 years from now? (A clearly defined picture of the future.)
How? …are we going to get there? What is the strategic plan, goals, initiatives, and accountability structure that will take us to that destination?
If you choose the right team, have them help craft an inspired purpose, define an exciting destination in the future, create a plan to get there, and then execute on that plan, I promise you will arrive somewhere on purpose. And, you won’t have trouble attracting talent, customers, or growing your business.
Give it a shot on your own.
Get our book if we ever get around to writing it.
Contact us and we’ll help you get it done.
Consider
Do you spend all your time answering questions and solving problems?
Are you also answering the bigger, more important questions?
Do you know the “Why”, “Where”, and “How” of your organization?
How have you identified the right “Who”? Did they feel ownership and commitment to the answers to those other questions?
What do you need to do next to get this done?